How to Make New Drugs More Affordable

Devon Herrick is a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis.

The paper starts thus:

"Over the past several years, a few high-priced drugs have elevated drug spending to a political issue. Patients are more sensitive to rising costs due to increasing deductibles and, because consumers pay more of their drug costs, pharmaceutical companies are less able to pass on high prices without anyone noticing.

"A significant driver of high drug prices is the excessive regulatory regime at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA regulatory overreach is exacerbated by a lack of guidance from Congress. To boost competition and hold the line on drug prices, a more rational path to drug approval is badly needed."